In November, David Beckham will lead Great Britain and Ireland XI when they come up against the Rest of the World team in a charity fundraiser football match.

Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson

Beckham, who will be playing for the first time since his retirement at the end of the 2012-13 season, has persuaded Sir Alex Ferguson to abandon his own retirement and take up the manager's mantle once more in next month's Unicef Match for Children at Old Trafford.

Roy Keane, who captained United for eight of his twelve years with the club, was also invited to take part in the game, and Beckham had hoped that this would be an opportunity for Keane and the former manager to resolve their differences, as the two have been locked in a bitter feud since Keane left United in 2005.

Keane and Ferguson have criticised each other in their respective autobiographies, although Keane, who has accused his former manager of telling lies, said last December he would be happy to move on if Ferguson apologised.

However, Beckham has admitted that international commitments have ruined the chances of Keane and Ferguson burying the hatchet.

"We have asked Roy, but unfortunately he is tied up," Beckham said. "He is on international duty and that is part of the problem with some of the other players we wanted to play."

Beckham and Sir Alex will lead Great Britain and Ireland without Keane's help on November 14.